Always is the fifth studio album by English singer Gabrielle. It was released by Systemtactic Limited and Go! Beat Records on 1 October 2007 through Universal Music. Her first release in over three years, Gabrielle reteamed with longtime collaborators Julian Gallagher and The Boilerhouse Boys to work on the album. Always received positive reviews from music critics and entered the UK Albums Chart at number 11 and the UK R&B Album Chart at number 4. A supporting tour took place in February 2008.
Critical reception
Nick Levine of Digital Spy praised Always as "the most innately Gabrielle record of her career," highlighting its emotional songwriting, warmth, and polished soul-pop production. While noting some lyrical limitations and weaker moments, he described the album as a classy return that demonstrated Gabrielle's strength in delivering "heartbreak in a dignified, unostentatious manner." BBC Music reviewer Ben Wood described Always as a departure from Gabrielle's previous "middle of the road" soul-pop, praising its "more eclectic, better-produced, funkier set of songs" and early 1970s soul influences. While noting that the lyrics could be a weakness, he concluded that the album was "a very pleasant surprise," highlighting its unexpected production choices and Gabrielle's distinctive vocal style.
AllMusic editor Jon O'Brien praised Always as a successful return to Gabrielle's retro soul-pop sound, describing it as featuring "some of the most inventive material of her 15-year career" and commending its "effortless blend of authentic soul and classy understated production." While he criticized the album's midsection for descending into "MOR territory" with "bland guitar ballads," he concluded that it showed Gabrielle "grow[ing] older gracefully, and on her own terms." Hot Press criticized Always for its repetitive lyrical themes and "equally stilted sound," arguing that Gabrielle's "charming voice" was "mostly mired in the unmemorable." The website's editoral team praised "Love Me Like You Do", "Closure", and "Why" as highlights, but concluded the album lacked strong songs comparable to "Rise" and "Dreams."
Commercial performance Always opened and peaked at number 11 on the UK Albums Chart and number 4 on the UK R&B Albums Chart, while also reaching number 27 in Scotland and number 79 in Ireland. It was Gabrielle's first studio album not to receive a UK certification and did not chart in several international territories where her earlier releases had previously charted, reflecting a more limited commercial impact compared to her prior work.
Track listing
Personnel Adapted from AllMusic.
Juan Alaya – guitar Mat Bartram – assistant engineer Mark Berrow – violin Rachel Bolt – viola Tom Brock – composer Gustav Clarkson – viola David "Crackers" Cracknell – piano Caroline Dale – cello David Daniels – cello Andy Dean – bass, composer, producer Liz Edwards Violin Gabrielle – composer, primary artist Dillon Gallagher – engineer Julian Gallagher – composer, drums, producer Simon Hale – piano, string arrangements, strings Ash Howes – mixing Richard Hynd – composer, keyboards, programming Garfield Jackson – viola Anders Kallmark – keyboards, mixing, programming Patrick Kiernan – violin Boguslaw Kostecki – violin Peter Lale – viola Chris Laurence – double bass Julian Leaper – violin William Lockhart – percussion, timpani Martin Loveday – cello Rita Manning – violin Christian Marsac – guitar, saxophone Perry Mason – leader, violin David McAlmont – background vocals Ally McErlaine – guitar Steve Morris – violin Everton Nelson – violin Tom Pigott-Smith – violin Chris Pitsillides – viola Chris Potter – engineer, mixing Steve Price – engineer Carmen Reece – background vocals Johnathan Rees – violin Robert Nelson Relf – composer Frank Ricotti – percussion Root – art direction, design Jackie Shave – violin Matthew Shave – photography Emlyn Singleton – violin Derrick Taylor – bass, violin Cathy Thompson – violin Christopher Tombling – violin Helen Tunstall – harp Lawrence Watson – photography Paul Weller – guitar, background vocals Bruce White – viola Ben Wiesner – drums Jonathan Williams – cello Ben Wolff – composer, drums, producer David Woodcock – violin Gavyn Wright – orchestra leader, violin Warren Zielinski – violin
Charts +Weekly chart performance for AlwaysChart (2007)Peakposition
References